The Texans went to training camp with five veteran starters on an offensive line that was one of the best in 2011.

Right tackle Rashad Butler and right guard Antoine Caldwell were new starters replacing Eric Winston (Kansas City) and Mike Brisiel (Oakland) entering the last year of their contracts. It was an ideal situation for them: Play well and earn new multimillion-dollar contracts.

Coach Gary Kubiak and offensive line coach John Benton had to improvise, though, after Butler suffered a season-ending triceps injury. Derek Newton, a seventh-round pick in 2011, was forced into the lineup a year earlier than the coaches had planned.

Caldwell was in and out of the lineup because of nagging injuries, and he lost his starting job to rookie Ben Jones, a fourth-round pick who was drafted to back up center Chris Myers. Brandon Brooks, a fellow rookie who was taken a round earlier, eventually played well enough to rotate with Jones.

Strengths: Brown, Myers and Smith were voted to the Pro Bowl. Jones and Brooks showed improvement as they rotated at right guard. In his first year as a starter, Newton improved over the second half of the season.

Weaknesses: They need another tackle to provide quality depth. Smith will turn 32 and enter his 11th season. Butler and Caldwell, both of whom were supposed to start, were sidetracked because of injuries. Both were also in the last year of their contracts.

Bottom line: Jones and Brooks showed they can develop into legitimate starters. Newton showed improvement. Newton had to learn on the run.

Like Jones and Brooks, Newton suffered growing pains but improved enough to show the coaches he could handle the job on a full-time basis.

Right side held its own

As for the other side of the line, left tackle Duane Brown and left guard Wade Smith were voted to the Pro Bowl along with Myers.

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"I was really impressed," Kubiak said about the progress of the offensive line. "I thought we had one of the top offensive lines in football coming out of (2011 season). Then we have a situation where we (had) to start over on the right side, (but) that's part of the game."

The Texans waived Winston because they needed $5 million to get under the salary cap. Brisiel signed with Oakland for $4 million a year.

"John (Benton) and Rico (offensive coordinator Rick Dennison) did a tremendous job with Newton, Brooks and Ben and working through that situation," Kubiak said.

The Texans ran outside right tackle 128 times for 657 yards, ranking fifth in the NFL. They averaged 5.1 yards per carry and had 22 runs of 10 or more yards.

Running between right tackle and right guard, they ranked 15th with 189 yards and averaged 4.1 yards. They had three runs of 10-plus yards.

Running between right guard and center, they ranked 19th with 111 carries for 380 yards. They averaged 3.4 yards and had nine of at least 10 yards.

"You sit there and you've got a guy doing what (running back) Arian's (Foster) doing and what (receiver) Andre (Johnson) did, somebody's got to be up front doing a hell of a job," Kubiak said. "These guys have come a long way. Their future is very bright."

The coaches don't have to worry about Brown and Myers. Brown is going to his first Pro Bowl, and he was voted to the All-Pro Team, meaning he's one of the two best at his position in the NFL.

Myers is an iron man going to his second consecutive Pro Bowl. He's the leader up front and makes the calls.

Smith is going to his first Pro Bowl in his 10th season. He'll turn 32 next season and could be pushed by one of the young guards.

The linemen helped the Texans finish eighth in rushing and ninth in sacks per pass play. They allowed 28 sacks. Only six teams allowed fewer than the Texans.

Far from standing pat

The linemen also helped the Texans lead the NFL in time of possession for the second consecutive season, averaging 32 minutes, 53 seconds.

General manager Rick Smith is always looking to upgrade every position. He'll be looking for quality depth on the line.

Ryan Harris, signed to a one-year contract after being waived by Denver, rotated with Newton at right tackle. He might not be back. Butler and Caldwell could be gone. If so, the Texans will need more depth with guard Cody White and tackle Andrew Gardner.